It's What Makes Us Human: Halloween Outtake
by Soapy Water xx
Summary: Sorry it's late!  The Cullens and Leah have a Halloween Party and enjoy the quirks that the social holiday brings.  R&R please!
1. Halloween Party

**A.N: Welcome to the second outtake – Halloween special! The Cullens throw a Halloween party and invite their friends from Forks High to the crypt! What kind of dramas will they have to deal with? **

…T'was the Night Of Hallows Eve

"Alice, why on earth do I have to dress like this?"

Alice Cullen, the shopping fanatic, had decided to pick out my outfit for this accursed Halloween Party I had been forced to attend. Ideally, to her, she wanted me to get ready for the party at the Cullen house in Forks, where she could apply my makeup and tweak the outfit if she disliked it. I wasn't having that – I was not getting dressed up for Halloween in the Vampire's crypt.

So, Alice and I compromised. I would not get ready for Halloween in the Cullen's house, so Alice had borrowed Edward's MacBook and was now video calling me to see me in my outfit. She didn't have any idea if it would suit me or not due to her blindness – I found it amusing she couldn't see me in her visions. But it always pissed her off when I laughed.

"What do you think?" she squealed from the other end of the line. I appraised myself, one eyebrow quirked as I took in the ridiculous outfit the pixie had chosen. The high collar, the red cape and the long flowing black dress, with fake blood smeared onto it, the entire outfit made me cringe. The plastic fangs were still in the bag Alice had given me – I didn't want to put those things on.

"Alice…" I tried to work out how to word my dilemma. "Aren't you supposed to be the Vampire?"

"Leah!" she whined, pouting at me. I rolled my eyes. Her expression changed as she appraised me herself; "your hair's a mess and you're not wearing any makeup. Oh Leah, get round here now, I'll sort this mess out."

"No, Alice," I said firmly. "Now, tell me what I need to do and I'll do it. I am not coming over only for you to mess up my hair and smother me in makeup. My limited supplies will have to do for you!"

She huffed. "Fine," she groaned, "but only because I can see your reaction if I do what I want to on your face."

"Cover it with a paper bag?" someone sniggered. I scowled, recognising Emmett's playful tone.

"Shut up Emmett," I replied smarmily.

Immediately, the fool's face was pressed up against the camera lense, and he 'ooh!'-ed and 'ahhh!'-ed at me outfit like it was the best thing he'd ever seen. I rolled my eyes and immediately gave him the finger.

"Esme!" Emmett's face instantly disappeared, the camera blurring the image. I heard the sounds of his retreat as he continued to yell to his adoptive mother. "Leah's making rude hand gestures again!"

"Shove it up your arse Emmett!" I yelled, hoping he would hear. There was another sound of pain from him as he yelled back;

"Your cruel words, they hath wounded me!"

"Aren't you guys supposed to be getting dressed up, too?" I asked, looking at Alice. She smirked and disappeared, reappearing a second later. Now, she wore a witch's hat, her hair replaced by a green wig. She held a broomstick and wore black robes – the perfect witch outfit.

Then, she threw back her head and let out an evil cackle – the sound was shrill and very witchy. I suppressed a giggle as Alice beamed with enthusiasm. Immediately, she looked back to me, a crease forming between her eyes as she looked at me with reproach.

Oh no.

"Leah…" she asked, looking down. Her lips curved down in a pout and she blinked at me with sad eyes.

"Don't try this with me Alice," I warned her.

She sighed heavily and removed the sad expression. I huffed out in relief – but she now had an evil gleam in her eyes as she beamed widely at me. _Shit. _What was the evil pixie planning?

"Please Leah – I swear I won't go overboard with the makeup. I'll be really quick – it won't take longer than thirty seconds and I've got some _very _high quality make up remover for you to use to get it off. I won't let the boys laugh at you – I won't let anyone be mean to you! Please! I'll be your best friend for life Leah!"

"No, that's Bella," I sneered her name.

Alice sighed. "Please."

"No."

"Leah, please!"

"No."

"Leah…"

"Alice, I said no! For crap's sake!"

A knock at the door interrupted our shouting match, and I glared Alice down. She returned my expression, and instantly a shiver ran down my spine – the automatic reaction to Vampires.

"There's someone at the door Ali. I'll call you back," I muttered, pressing 'End' before she could protest and resume her yelling.

Smirking, thinking I'd won, I ran down the stairs and answered the door, grabbing the candy bowl from the kitchen as I went, in case it was a trick or treater. I wrenched open the door, and I was surprised to see a man about as tall as me at the door. He had ginger hair and golden eyes… hmm.

"It's not ginger, it's auburn," Edward told me sternly. Then, he smirked at me playfully – the expression was far too cheeky. But he did look pretty attractive in his costume – though unfortunately, we matched.

He wore a black tuxedo with a red waistcoat, his collar turned up, long around his neck. His skin seemed even paler than usual in contrast to the dark colours, and Alice had obviously attacked him with makeup – the dark circles around his eyes were smeared to look even bigger. His hair was smoothed back though, gelled into a manageable style.

Of course, Edward managed to pick out the hidden compliment:

"Pretty attractive, eh?" he asked, still smiling slightly. I rolled my eyes at his cockiness. "Thank you very much, my dear vampire."

"I always assumed it was _vampyr,_" I told him, smirking.

"Whatever," he said dismissively. "The point is, I'm here to kidnap you Ms. Clearwater. Do you have any last words before you are taken to the lair of the _vampyr_?" he emphasised 'vampyr.'

"Can I write a note for Seth telling him where I am?" I demanded.

"He already knows – Alice rang him."

"Did Alice put you up to this?" I suddenly realised this was probably the case. She probably bribed Edward to come here and take me back to the 'vampyr lair' as hostage. She was evil like that.

"Of course she did," he replied, grinning. "Now can we go before I am punished for not bringing back the newborn vampyr on time?"

I huffed – "You really cannot beat Alice can you? I thought the Swan girl was just a wuss."

I froze when I realised my mistake – as did Edward. He'd been doing fine since we had become friends, but now he froze and his expression became pinched and pained. I felt guilt course though me – he didn't bring up Sam, I didn't bring up Bella. It was the silent rule we'd agreed on.

"Come on," he said finally, unclenching his jaw. "Let's go."

But I still felt bad – and I would continue to feel bad for the rest of the night if I didn't sort this now.

"Edward," I stopped him as he walked back towards his shiny silver Volvo. He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry."

I moved closer to him and gently touched his hand – apologising in two ways. He nodded his head and a small smile graced his lips. I grinned back at him, suddenly remembering the fake plastic fangs. As soon as I had the thought, there was a rush of wind around me, and Edward reappeared, now sporting the fangs.

I grinned and put them in. The plastic slid over my teeth easily, and I grinned – a strange hissing noise coming from my mouth. Edward chuckled – trying to stop himself having a laugh at my expense. The last time he did that I 'accidently' snapped his Debussy CD. He wasn't a happy vampyr then.

"Come on," he said, not commenting. I was glad – I hated it when he read my mind too often. Once or twice was fun – continually was annoying.

I quickly got into the other side of the Volvo and Edward gunned the engine and sped off down the street. I loved his speed – it was sometimes too slow, actually. The Volvo had a very bumpy ride though – I wished he'd invested in an Audi or something smoother.

"Don't judge my Volvo. It's a very reliable car."

"But that's its only selling point, right?"

He didn't reply.

…

…

…

"Alice, why do I have to wear so much makeup?"

The evil pixie just smirked as she handed me a pair of contact lenses. I carefully placed them over my eyes, now staring through red filmy lenses. The final touches to being a vampire.

Still waiting for Alice's reply, I stared at my reflection. Alice had somehow made my skin ashen, with bags prominent under my eyes. The makeup was smoky and mysterious around my eyes, and though I did think she'd done a good job of the whole 'vampirism' thing, I would not be wearing makeup like this in the future.

She had tweaked my hair too, winding it up into a knot on the back of my head. I was glad my hair had grown so fast – I hadn't been enjoying the short crop of hair I had endured before; 'for the good of my pack' or some shit.

"Because you're supposed to be a vampire. And vampires have very smoky makeup with tired faces. Of course, you've already got the beauty aspect of being a vampire covered," she smiled at me. Trying to butter me up.

"Right," I muttered, ignoring her compliment.

At that moment, the door opened and – at an incredible speed – I was enveloped in a hug by the largest member of the Cullen family. I smirked as Emmett pulled away and beamed at me, his expression ruined by the hideous scars.

He was Frankenstein.

Frankenstein.

…Seriously, Alice?

Emmett wore a ripped up pair of black trousers, with a matching pair of black sneakers. His shirt was navy blue and ripped too – but his skin was dyed green and there was a fake bolt through his head. His hair was messed up, spiked up and his eyes were wide with excitement.

"Hi Frankenstein," I greeted.

"Hi vampire!" he replied enthusiastically. "I made the costume myself – Frankenstein's my favourite book. What do you think!"

"It's cool Emmett. Seriously cool," I told him, grinning.

He beamed like I'd just told him Christmas was coming early.

"Come on guys, the party starts in ten minutes – and Jessica and Lauren will arrive early to check out the Cullen house before anyone else arrives," Alice cut in.

"Okay."

We made our way downstairs and into the Cullen lounge. There, Jasper and Edward were fixing up the sound system. Carlisle and Esme were stood by the door – not dressed up for Halloween. They were obviously going to retreat out of the house once the party kicked off.

I noticed Rosalie was nowhere to be found.

She had been distant ever since I had pushed her from the Cullen Bridge. It was a mistake on my part – I should have realised how sensitive Rosalie was about her looks and I probably shouldn't have teased her mercilessly afterwards – until she had snapped at me and told me 'if you don't shut up I'll snap your neck and drain your body of blood.'

"Hey."

Edward hadn't changed since I last saw him. He smirked at me and waved halfheartedly. I threw him a glare – Edward was sometimes too cocky. He grinned even wider at that thought.

"Hey," I replied, glaring slightly. He smirked.

"This is gonna be fun then, isn't it?" I asked him rhetorically. I was never one for social occasions, playing the host and rushing around after the mindless guests who were so desperate to stand out – or have some fun.

I wondered if the Cullens had locked their bedrooms. I was sure Rosalie wouldn't appreciate walking in on a couple of adolescents 'doing the deed.'

Edward burst into raucous laughter. I glared at him –

"Stop reading my mind," I muttered grouchily, moving to answer the door. Werewolf hearing came in handy – I could hear the cars turning from the main road down the Cullen's lane. It was hard to miss – Alice had invested in a bunch of pumpkin lights, which she had wrapped around every single tree from the main road, leading to the house.

Edward raised an eyebrow at me.

I ignored him.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" a high pitched voice sang. I cringed – not more makeup, please, no!

Edward laughed. "Not makeup."

Alice ran towards me from the stairs, and suddenly I found myself holding a pair of plastic fangs. I sighed, inserted them into my mouth.

"Do I have to wear these?" I asked, my voice thick. You couldn't speak properly with the large plastic jaws covering your teeth.

"Yes we do," Edward replied, his voice clear as ever. The fangs fitted over his teeth just as badly as they fitted over mine, yet his voice was still sharp and easy to hear. I rolled my eyes.

Damned vampires with their extra abilities.

Of course, at that moment, the doorbell rang. Alice ran past me – at human speed – and opened the door widely, beaming as she saw the large crowd of kids from their school.

And there, at the back of the crowd, was a girl with mahogany hair and dark brown eyes. Another very familiar man had his arm wrapped around her shoulders possessively. The two were smiling happily.

_What. The. Fuck? _


	2. What The Fuck Is She Doing Here?

Chapter 2 – What The Fuck Is She Doing Here?

"What the fuck is she doing here!"

Edward had led me off to a secluded corner of the house once I had seen Bella. His mind reading skills were often the bane of my existence – I'd had every intention of marching up to the girl who had hurt him so deeply and demanding a reasonable explanation of why she accepted his proposal and then barely a day later dropped him for another man! Supernatural or not, it was unjustified. She deserved to know what effect she'd had on him.

But the other reason I was so furious – he looked unhappy now. Edward's eyes burned with pain that he tried valiantly to hold back, but I could still see the agony burning in his eyes. Part of me wanted to hug him, tell him everything was okay – but the other part wanted to hunt down the bitch who had hurt him and kill her, maybe?

I could see Alice bouncing along buoyantly, speaking quickly to the devil herself. The two were nodding, laughing, smiling even, and I felt sick to the stomach watching them. How could Alice have been so thoughtless towards her brother? He did not deserve to suffer like this, for the sake of an old friendship.

And _she _did not deserve to be friends with Alice.

"Leah, please calm down and think rationally," Edward told me quietly. People were looking across at us curiously every so often, but most of the students were too engrossed with dancing to really notice us.

"Rationally! You want me to be rational! Why did your sister invite her! Why are they both so determined to torture you Edward! If you give me a _'rational'_ explanation, maybe I can _try_ and _act_ rational!"

"Leah," he started.

"Don't 'Leah' me! I know there is no rational explanation Edward, I know exactly why she's here – Sam tried it several times with me, determined to keep on coming back to apologise, and while he was trying to rid himself of a guilty conscience, he was rubbing salt in my wounds!"

I felt myself shaking, quaking from the anger, and turned slowly, hissing slightly as I ran my hands roughly though my now ruined hair. The golden clips Alice had applied earlier were nowhere to be found. But I couldn't find it in me to care. Part of me was glad, even. I had ruined Alice's fun.

"Calm down," he said, his voice even more gentle now. I looked up at him, and my eyes met his golden ones. Something stirred within me, and I realised I was now perfectly still once again, my anger locked away and barely visible.

"You look furious, actually," he said, though he sounded slightly amused. "Leah, I can handle this. Think of it this way – if you put an alcoholic in a room with a bottle of fine wine, and he resists the urge to drink, he has recovered."

"What do alcoholics have to do with anything, Edward?" I asked, perfectly serious now. He bit back a laugh.

"Never mind, Leah."

I sighed, looked back to where Alice and _it _were chatting happily, not a care in the world. Anger stirred in me again, and I bit my lip hard, clenched my fists as I fought for control. I couldn't run out and phase. It would ruin the evening, and I didn't want to leave Edward to suffer alone.

"Thanks," he said quietly. His eyes shone with sincerity. "You are a good friend, Leah. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you as well."

I was shocked. Edward rarely spoke his emotions with me now – especially since I was prone to laugh at him at every possible opportunity. But he looked so sincere and quiet, and somehow _lost _that I couldn't find any humour in the situation.

I took his hand in mine. It was cool to touch, yet somehow the temperature burned my skin. My first wolf instinct was to pull away, to rip and to tear, but my human instincts told me otherwise. Then, slowly, I released his hand and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my cheek against his chest.

Part of me was uncomfortable, chilled. The feeling was so unnatural, hugging a vampire, but I felt he needed this. Edward sighed slowly at the embrace and we stayed incredibly still for a couple of seconds, barely noticing the pulsating lights and spooky music that reverberated through the house.

And then, in sync, we pulled away. His eyes looked fuller somehow, he looked more awake. I wondered briefly when the last time he had been hugged was. I knew for a fact he had pushed his family away when Bella left him.

"Thank you," he said again.

"Anytime," I replied, my voice a little gruff.

There was a pause, an awkward silence. Then, I grinned and smirked.

"Tag."

It was childish, but I couldn't help myself. The mood had felt deep, and there was something in the air that I couldn't identify, so my first thought was to change it into something I did recognise, something fun.

The last thing I saw of Edward was his fleeting smile as I disappeared into the crowds of people.

I weaved in and out of the people, all flamboyantly dressed in Halloween outfits. I could feel somebody chasing behind me – automatically, I quickened my pace, running through the lounge and up the stairs.

I tried one of the doors.

Locked. They were all locked. _Shit. _

For some reason, fear locked around my heart, but I knew it was the adrenaline and the atmosphere that set me on edge as Edward moved slowly up the stairs, knowing I was caught.

I found myself looking around for an escape, any way out.

"Leah…" he said, voice low and creepy. "I'm coming…"

Then, I saw it. My eyes widened at my new found nerve, but I didn't have time to stop myself, or think of the consequences, as I moved to the balcony door and ran straight out.

"No!" I gasped, as Edward's hand touched my shoulder very lightly. There was a pause, just a second's pause, but it felt like much longer, and his voice echoed in my ears, a ghostly whisper.

"Tag."

Then, he was gone. Ooh, what a cheeky bugger he was.

I followed his scent down the stairs, and then it was masked by the scents of the humans in the house. Impossible to pick up. Plus, it would've looked kinda weird if I'd sniffed the air whilst looking around eagerly.

I checked the kitchen first, and hastily retreated when I found two adolescents making out against one of the countertops. I'd have to remind Esme to disinfect it later.

I checked almost everywhere, the dining room, the lounge, the study, the second lounge… but there was nothing to find. As I retreated from the second lounge with a sigh, I felt a cold hand on my shoulder, and automatically gasped, not accustomed with being surprised anymore. Normally, my senses missed nothing. It seemed being around Vampires affected me badly.

"Leah!" the evil pixie gasped as I spun around. She looked me over, taking in the messed up hair, bright eyes, everything. Then, her eyes narrowed and she glared at me icily.

"What, Alice?" I asked, dreading the moment when she would demand I went up to her room and let her fix my hair. I couldn't bear Alice when she got the torture devices out.

"Why is your hair messy?"

…

…

…

Twenty minutes later, I was released from the clutches of the evil pixie. I had considered demanding why Alice remained friends with Bella, but then I realised it would be rude, and despite my dislike for the Swan girl, there would be people who did like her. I couldn't make her public enemy number one. And I wasn't going to damage my friendship with Alice by arguing with her. If she wanted to be friends with an evil, manipulative, unreliable, untrustworthy, sly, cunning…

"Have you finished using that dictionary?"

Edward stood behind me, looking extremely amused. I could feel my face heat up as I chucked said dictionary back into Alice's room. There was a low curse from Jasper, who had stayed out of the way for the party.

"Sorry!" I called, now extremely embarrassed.

"S'okay," he replied.

"I don't know why you're being so smug, Cheater," I glared at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied coyly.

"Don't lie to me Edward," I smirked. I leaned closer to his ear, whispering now. "I know what you did. And you know what I have to do now, don't you?"

He looked confused, one eyebrow cocked in confusion. I managed to keep the evil expression on my face as I touched his shoulder lightly, and then whispered –

"Tag." 

"Leah," Edward smiled before I could run off. "Alice is announcing the Halloween Games have been set up now. I promised I'd help at the Apple Bobbing game she's planned."

"Wow," I muttered. "Your sister really doesn't do things halfway, does she?"

"Nope," he replied. I couldn't tell if he was annoyed by this or not.

We went downstairs together, not holding hands or anything romantic like that, just as we were. Alice had stood up on one of the thick gravestones that she had decorated the main lounge with, and was holding a microphone in one hand.

"The games have been opened now guys – they're all around the house. The Pumpkin Hunt, Apple Bobbing, Pie Eating Contest…" the list went on, and I zoned out for a couple of minutes.

Then, I felt Edward tugging on my arm and I realised the music had been turned up again. He grinned at me, knowing where my thoughts had been, and pulled me towards the kitchen.

"Apple Bobbing with a Cullen Twist!" Emmett was calling out to whoever would listen. There was already a gaggle of teens around the large silver basin, which looked large enough to be a bath. I could see only a couple of apples below the surface of the water, nothing else. The game looked slightly eerie.

"Only slightly?" Edward teased.

Then, I watched as the guests dipped their heads into the water and pulled out many different things – bones, fake eyeballs, bits of pumpkin, authentic but fake mouldy cheese and other gross things. I cringed as I watched numerous gross items being pulled from the basin.

I was starting to get bored of watching people getting soaked as they tried to win prizes. Edward obviously wasn't though – he looked highly amused as a kid called Mike Newton pulled out a very slimy green thing that I didn't care to identify.

"Edward," I said quietly. His head snapped up and a very calculating expression came onto his face as he examined me. I recognised this as his mind reading face – but before I could protest he nodded and smiled.

"Go get your fill of the party," he told me, before turning his attention to yet another kid.

I left the house and went into the garden. There, I could see groups of kids emerging from the woods behind the house with flashlights to search for pumpkins. Rosalie and Alice were organising that event. The woods were well lit despite the flashlights though, with lit up pumpkin lights wrapped around the trees.

"Hey Alice," I greeted.

"Hi Leah!" she replied enthusiastically. Her entire face was lit up with enthusiasm. Alice sure did love parties. "We're just stopping now, we're about to play Postman's Knock."

"Postman's Knock?"

I wasn't exactly an expert on Party games but I did know the well known ones. However, I'd never heard of Postman's Knock.

"Yeah! Come on, I'll explain to everyone once we're inside."

…

…

…


End file.
